Mail-bag catcher.



M. N. GEORGE.

MAIL BAG GATGHER.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 28, 1911.

1,019,629. Patented Mar.5, 1912.

amwwto c l/vdmwwo MJWGeOrgQ CULUMBIA PLANOGIIAPH co.. WASHINGTON, D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MARION N. GEORGE, OF IRO'NDALE, ALABAMA, ASSIGNOR T GEORGE MAIL DEVICE COMPANY, INC., 01 BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA, A CORPORATION OF ARIZONA.

MAIL-BAG CATCHER.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, MARION N. GEORGE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Irondale, in the county of Jefferson and State of Alabama, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wail-Bag Catchers; and I do hereby declare the f o1- lowing to be a full, clear, and exact descrlption of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to mail bag catchers for railway cars, and has for its purpose to provide a device of that character which, after being manually set to engaging position, will thereafter not need the attention of an operator, to which end a means is provided for automatically actuating the catcher to effect its release from engaging position and cause the same to securely hold the engaged mail bag; and wherein the arrangement is such that the ordinary impact to the mail bag is obviated, thus avoiding the danger of breaking weak bags and also lessening the danger to the occupants in the car.

The further purpose of the invention is to provide a novel construction of support for the bag catcher proper, which may be readily applied to or removed from operative position; and which when in operative position will effectively take up the strain or thrust of the catcher due to the sudden engagement of the mail bag.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in the novel details of construction and combinations of parts more fully hereinafter disclosed and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification in which like numerals designate like parts in all the views Figure 1 is a front elevational view of the device, partly broken away for clearness, and; Fig. 2 is a top plan view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the construction in detail 1 designates the side of a railway car having the usual side opening 2 therein, and within which opening the apparatus is designed to be supported and actuated.

The support for the catching device proper consists in a beam or bar of two similar sections 3 united by a plurality of rivets Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 28, 1911.

Patented Mar. 5, 1912.

Serial No. 641,164.

4 and which provide a slot or recess 5 within which the catcher arm 6 and its associated parts are mounted. The beam 3 is secured to the side of the car through the medium of a cleat 7, within which the end 8 of the beam engages; and a staple 9 which receives the bifurcated end 10 of said beam. The bifurcated end of the beam is designed to be held fast to the staple 9 through the agency of a pin 11. The cleat engaging end of the beam is cut away to provide a shoulder 12 which abuts against said cleat, whereby to take up the thrust of the beam due to the sudden engagement of the mail bag by the arm 6.

The mail bag engaging device proper consists in an arm (3 fulcrumed in the slot 5 of the beam by a pivot pin 13, which passes through the shoulder 14: of said arm 6 and also through both sections of the beam. The arm is provided with an extension 15 to the opposite side of the fulcrum 13 and a chain, or other cable, 16 which engages with said arm extension 15 constitutes the means for setting the device to engage with the mail bag. It will be understood, however, that the manipulating chain 16 may be dispensed with since said arm 6 could be readily set in operative position directly by the hands of the operator. A trigger 17 is fulcrumed on a pin 18 within the slot 5 of the beam and has its end 19 slightly bifurcated to engage with the arm 6 and hold said arm in position to engage the mail bag. The trigger 17 is held under tension with respect to the arm 6 through the agency of a spring 20, whose free end is in contact with the trigger extension 21 disposed to the opposite side of the fulcrum 18. The tensioning spring 20 is wound about a pin or stud'22 and has its fixed end 23 in substantially fixed engagement with the beam 3.

Through the foregoing described mechanism the arm 6, when set to position, which position is determined by the stud 24 on the shoulder 14, is held through the agency of the spring tensioned trigger 17, and on coming into engagement with the mail bag said trigger is thrown from that position shown in full lines in Fig. 2 to the position indicated by broken lines in said figure. In this last named position the engaging end 19 of the trigger 17 fits within a recess 25 formed in the shoulder 14.

When released by the trigger 17 the arm 6 is actuated to close inwardly against the beam 3, and to effect Which a tension spring 26 is provided. Said spring 26 is secured to a pin 27 and has the end 28 thereof fixed against a pin 29; and its free end 30, Which is looped, engaging With a projection or finger 31 formed integral With the shoulder 14.

It is obvious that those skilled in the art may vary the details of construction and arrangement of parts Without departing from the spirit of my invention, and therefore I do not Wish to be limited to such features except as may be required by the claims.

VVhat- I claim is 1. In a mail bag catcher, the combination of a support; an arm fulcrumed on said sup port and adapted to engage and hold the mail bag; said arm having a projecting portion adjacent the fulcrumed point thereof; a tensioning spring secured to said support and engaging With said arm projecting portion; a trigger fulcrumed on the support and adapted to engage with said arm and hold the same in engaging position and operable to be released by the mail bag; and a tensioning spring for the trigger on said support, substantially as described.

2. In a mail bag catcher, the combination of a support comprising a bar provided with a slot; an arm fulcrumed on the bar Within said slot and adapted to engage and hold the mail bag; said arm provided with a projecting member adjacent the fulcrum point thereof; a tensioning spring secured tort-he arm Within said slot and engaging With said projecting member; a trigger fulcrumed on the support and adapted to engage With the arm and hold the same in engaging position, and operable to be released by the mail bag; and a tensioning spring for the trigger secured to the bar Within said slot, substantially as described.

8. In a mail bag catcher, the combination of a support; an arm fulcrumed on the support and adapted to engage With and hold a mail bag, said arm having a projection to the opposite side of said fulcrum; a trigger fulcrumed on the support and adapted to hold the arm in engaging position and effect the automatic release thereof; and a device engaging With said arm projection operable to set the arm in engaging position, substantially as described.

4. In a mail bag catcher, the combination of a support comprising a bar provided With a slot; an arm fulcrumed on said bar Within said slot and adapted to engage with and hold a mail bag, said arm having a pro ection to the opposite side of said fulcrum; a cable connected With said arm projection operable to set said arm in engaging position, and a spring tensioned trigger adapted to hold the arm in set position and to automatically effect the release thereof, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

MARION N. GEORGE.

WVit-nesses G. EHLUNSTAN, B. H. DAILEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the fGommissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

